The Monster of the Wastelands
by Gremblin
Summary: AU. The Once-ler meets the Lorax's evil twin brother and learns that just because the Lorax doesn't use his powers doesn't mean others won't as well.


___So here's that fic I was talking about in the Ask over on Professor Pemzini's page. I dunno, but maybe little bit of triggery things when Once-ler transforms? Not completely sure._

_Once-ler meets the Lorax's evil twin and finds out that while the Lorax doesn't use his powers - there are others out there that do._

_Btw? I love this fandom. Ask for advice and you get it, no complaints or bashing. Thanks to Professor Pemzini for being online and willing to give me the thoughts I needed to be able to write this!_

**1.**

Life, Once-ler grinned, was good. _Very_good. As he sat in his office, absentmindedly counting one of seven bundles of hundred dollar bills, a giddy feeling filled the man's body. He'd achieved what he'd set out to do so many years ago. He was rich enough to buy anything he wanted, no more would he or his family have to choose between food and clothing or anything similar. All the people that had doubted him, that had tried to stop him and push him towards an easier path were eating their words now. All the girls and boys he'd gone to school with that had scoffed at him and his attempts at befriending them were cursing their stupidity.

He pulled the elastic off the bundle of paper bills and threw them up into the air, watching them float down. It was wasteful, he knew. He didn't care – he had tons more if a bill or two went missing.

Once-ler leaned back in his desk chair, letting the money fall on him, giggling at the thought of what his younger self would think to see such wasteful behaviour. A bill floated down over his eyes and settled itself in for a nice long stay, but it's owner wanted none of that kind of behaviour. With a quick puff of air from his mouth the bill blocking his vision was removed, revealing his office to him once again.

A shriek of surprised fear shot out of the man's mouth, for standing on his desk was a creature that hadn't been there moments before. "Moustache!" Once-ler said angrily, picking himself up off the floor from where he'd fallen. "What are you doing here? Get out of my office, I'm _busy_!"

"Don't know who you think I am, but I'm not my brother, _murderer_." the creature growled. Once-ler took a long second glance and upon a closer inspection while the thing standing on his desk did indeed bear a striking resemblance to the orange annoyance it was in fact a different being altogether. It's fur was matted and black with Glop like the Lorax never was. While the speaker for the trees was portly this thing was gaunt, skeletal looking with little muscle mass.

The unknown Lorax doppelganger snarled it's pointed shark-like teeth at him and Once-ler finally realized that maybe he should have taken the Lorax's threat of retribution more seriously. He backed up a step because maybe if he got close enough he could lock the thing in his office while he escaped down the balcony steps.

"Who are you? However much money you want, you can have it, just leave me and my family alone." It was an empty promise. He didn't make deals with terrorists but it would get him into the safety of being somewhere that this thing wasn't.

The glop-covered creature snarled again. "I don't want your money." It sounded even angrier. "I want retribution for the Truffula trees you've chopped down, for the Hummingfish that can't hum, the Barbaloots that can't play, and the Swomee swans that can't sing."

Once-ler decided that moving slowly was overrated and spun, running as fast as his long legs could carry him. It wasn't fast enough, though, it would never have been fast enough. Just as he opened the door he was bowled over by the nightmare that had been behind him, appearing in front and colliding with his chest. Once-ler threw his hands up in front of his face to try and protect himself, shouting for help because Brett and Chet were always just outside his door just in case.

"I am the Larox, I act for the trees." the thing announced, holding Once-ler down quite well despite it's small size. "I act for the trees for the trees have no arms. You've nearly chopped them all down so their time for revenge has come." when the words had finished being spoken the creature grinned sinisterly into it's victim's eyes before biting down hard onto the Once-ler's arm.

The Once-ler, who had been in a frozen state of fear up until then, shouted in pain and tried to get the thing off him, away from him, anything to make it not be biting him. Once-ler's back hit a wall just as Brett managed to break the door open and just like that the creature was gone. It was gone but what it had done remained, the green-suited business tycoon's arm having been left a mangled and bloody mess.

Brett and Chet looked around the room, confused because they'd expected there to be more in the room than just their brother. Theirs and Once-ler's mother walked into the room behind them, scurrying over to check her rich son over once she was sure no harm would come to her from the action.

"Oh, Oncie!" She gasped when she saw the arm he was cradling close to his chest. "What _happened_?" her voice was sugary-sweet with worry while she reached out to move his arm so she could better see it.

Something about his mothers made him step backwards out of her reach, though, the hair on the back of his neck rising. She looked at him in annoyance, her hand darting out quickly and grabbing the lapels of his suit jacket to stop him. Once-ler tried to back away from her, make her release him because something inside him made him want to be nowhere near the woman that had birthed him. Her grip was like steel though and kept him in place, even making him show his injury to her.

"Oh, what sort of animal did this to you? Did you get a good look, baby?" she cooed, looking closely at the injury. "Come now, we'll get you to a doctor and get it all nice and fixed up for you." she decided, nodding her head and walking away. When she realized he wasn't following along behind her like the good son he usually was she turned and sent him an annoyed look while walking back to him.

She reached out to pull him along but found herself pushed away from Once-ler. He sent her a scathing look that had her stepping away from him, her eyes wide. "What's the matter, Oncie?" she asked, taking another fearful step back. He stayed where he was, watching her carefully, his eyes glued to hers.

"Please go away, mom. I'll – I'll take care of this myself." Once-ler said quietly. And for the first time in his life his mother did as he asked without comment or argument. She left without a word, Brett and Chet following along behind her obediently. Only when he was completely alone and sure every door and window was locked, that every curtain was closed tight, did Once-ler let himself curl up in his chair and look at his arm.

It didn't hurt as much as when the injury had first happened only moments before. Carefully he stripped out of his jacket and then the white shirt underneath so he could see the mangled skin free and clear. It didn't look good and a little thread of worry at how much it didn't hurt wound it's way into his stomach. At least it wasn't bleeding so badly anymore. Gently he wrapped his shirt around the wounded limb to try and keep it from getting dirty.

The rest of the day passed slowly. No one bothered him, Once-ler guessed his brothers were keeping people away and that his mother had unhooked his phone from her desk because his phone wasn't ringing either. She'd done it before and while normally he hated it when she did it this time he didn't mind. He wanted silence to figure out what the creature that had bitten him meant by what it had said. Retribution? Sure, not being able to use his right arm for however long it took to heal would be annoying but eventually it _would_heal. Thneed production wouldn't stop while he was hurt either. He'd keep biggering – an injured arm wouldn't keep him from making more money.

"Beanpole!"

For the second time that day Once-ler was sent sprawling backwards out of his chair. It certainly looked like the Lorax... but he'd been wrong before. Once bitten twice shy, after all.

"Beanpole, it's me, the Lorax! I came as soon as I could manage, I swear." it said. Once-ler reached out tentatively to touch the creature, the Lorax would do nothing he knew while the other one would attack again. He didn't know how he knew but he did, he knew it was a true fact and not just a hope created by his mind.

The fur was as soft as he remembered it being and no attack came. The tension in Once-ler's body loosened, drifted away on the proverbial breeze. He let himself finally calm down, standing his chair upright and sitting in it so he could gently place his arm on top of his desk.

"I'm gonna take a look at it. That alright with you, kid?" The Lorax questioned while he kneeled down to get a better look at the human's limb. The speaker for the trees didn't move any closer to touching Once-ler until he was given a verbal _'Yeah, okay.'_and even then moved slowly. The shirt was gingerly unwound until nothing but the mangled skin was left. It took much of Once-ler's self control not to pull his arm away because how was he supposed to know if the Lorax had anything to do with the attack? Hadn't the forest guardian been threatening terrible things upon him since he'd first arrived?

He stayed still, though, and let the Lorax inspect the wound. The Lorax hadn't harmed him yet and he didn't get that nervous feeling around the orange fuzzball that he had around his mother. The Lorax could be trusted, at least a little.

"This is bad, beanpole." Once-ler looked up into the face of the Lorax. "I sent him back where he came from ... but I can't undo what he's already done. I'm sorry kid."

Once-ler was silent for a moment. "What did he do to me?" he finally asked in a quiet voice.

" ... the Barbaloots are leaving." The Lorax said, holding up a hand to waylay the angry demand of what that had to do with anything. "The trees are all gone. The last one fell earlier. The swomee swans and hummingfish are all going with them. I'm leaving too, there's no forest left to guard."

"That can't be." Once-ler protested, momentarily forgetting what it was he really wanted to know. "Someone would have told me!"

The Lorax shook his head. "Your ma wouldn't let any of them inside, said you'd turned into a monster that tried to kill her when she tried to come in and tell you."

Once-ler jumped to his feet, his face a portrait of intense anger. "I didn't! I didn't touch her!" he exclaimed. Before he could could move to try and find his mother and give her a stern talking-to for spreading such lies about him he found himself gently pushed back down to a sitting position in his desk chair by the Lorax.

"I know you didn't, kid!" The Lorax nodded. "And I've already kicked her out for you. Her and all your family's gone, packed up their camper and left for their own safety."

"_'For their own safety'_?" Once-ler demanded. "What the hell are you talking about, they were perfectly safe here!"

The Lorax shook his head sadly. "No. They weren't. Not anymore anyway. You're a danger to any humans that come nearby after your first night, it's already started."

His stomach starting to bother him, Once-ler curled his legs up close to his chest. "What d'you mean? Nothing's started, I'm finished all the paperwork I had today. Everything's _finished_that's why I was playing with my money before that crazy thing bit me!" he motioned to the bills still scattered over the floor and his desk.

"The sun's gonna start going down soon so listen up. When you were bitten you were cursed. Not the 'I'm gonna float your bed down a river to get rid of you' kinda curse that I do but the _real thing_." The Lorax said, ignoring what the Once-ler had been saying. "There's seeds in the ground and they're gonna grow, but they need to be protected and looked after. You've been volunteered."

"What? No. No, no, no, no! Whatever that thing did you can undo! Use your powers that you keep saying you have!" Once-ler was pleading. His stomach was starting to hurt even more.

The Lorax shook his head again. "I've already told you, it doesn't work like that." the forest guardian opened his mouth to continue his explanation of the Once-ler's predicament but was cut off when the human gasped in pain. The Lorax hadn't noticed the way the man had been holding his stomach but when he did he silently cursed himself, running over and throwing one of the curtains open.

The sun was nearly finished going down, the moon on it's way up into the sky. The Lorax spun to look at Once-ler just as the sun completely disappeared over the edge of the horizon, bringing with it a pained groan from the truffula trees destroyer.

Once-ler fell out of his chair and onto the plush carpet with a thump. His stomach felt like something was trying to claw its way out. Something touched his face and he tried to jerk away from it because it _hurt_but then he managed to open his eyes and saw it was the Lorax, saying something. The ringing in Once-ler's ears was too loud and drowning the words out though.

He started rolling over onto his side but the pain spread like a fire across a dry field, starting at his stomach and flying out to cover the rest of his body. Bones started shifting, bending, grinding against each other, and he could feel it all happening but he wished he couldn't because it _hurt_. His muscles moved with the bones, twisting and turning to match where his bones were going. Tears fell from his eyes accompanied by pained whimpering cries.

A crawling sensation erupted over Once-ler's skin but was gone nearly as fast as it appeared. When that one final addition to disappeared the pain of whatever had been happening went with it, leaving him laying on the floor of his office panting for breath. The Lorax's hands were still running down his cheek, playing with the hair there.

Once-ler's eyes shot open because he didn't have hair on his cheek. At least not normally.

The first thing he saw was that his skin was covered by thick black and grey fur. Then that his fingers ended in animal-like claws. His heart started racing – what was going on? What had happened to him?

"Beanpole!" The Lorax shouted, leaning over into Once-ler's view. But instead of orange the forest guardian's fur was a light shade of grey. "Calm down, everything's going to be alright!" Liar! He wanted to shout out, because how could being turned into this _thing_, whatever he was, ever be alright? All that came out though was a low growl. It got him a swat on the shoulder by the Lorax and a scolding look.

"Listen to me, Beanpole! You're the protector of the seeds, now! You gotta make sure the seeds that are in the ground are taken care of! 'Cause you're gonna be turning into this every night to do just that. Same with every time a threat comes into the forest during the day." That said the Lorax walked out to the balcony door, opening it reluctantly. Once-ler tried to plead with the Speaker for the Trees, get him to stay, but all that was managed was an unhappy whimpering sound.

The Lorax looked at his friend, cursed in a way he'd hoped he could prevent. Dog-like fur covering every part of his body, long canine snout and ears. A tail hanging limp and sad from the bottom of the man's spine. Eyes even more expressive than they were as a human. Part man, but mostly not.

Slowly the Lorax waved goodbye before lifting himself up away from the wasteland of devastation.

Slowly, the Once-ler howled out his laments at what he'd done.

**2.**

Years later, a story will start being heard around the nearby town of Thneedville. About a terrible monster that roams the wastelands outside the city and attacks nearly everyone that it finds in its forest.

And it finds everyone. There's no escaping it.

An enterprising teenager will take advantage of the fear of the monster and suggest building a wall to keep it out.

That same young man will, later, keep the seeds sleeping safely underground with smog and glop.

**3.**

Decades later a single person, a boy barely a teenager, enters the wasteland on a dare from friends and growing up hearing the stories of his grandmother.


End file.
